Jinting Han people

On the day of Jiazi in the seventh month of the fourth year of the Tai'an era, in Wei County (present-day Qujing), Jianning Commandery, Ningzhou, the 5,000 reinforcements promised to Luo Shang by Ningzhou had still not set out. The reason was very simple: the illness of Li Yi, the governor of Ningzhou, had worsened.

Li Yi's illness stemmed from arrow wounds, the root of which lay in the Ningzhou rebellion two years prior. At that time, Li Te's uprising had only recently begun, and Li Yi was preoccupied with leading troops to aid Luo Shang in suppressing the rebellion, leaving him little time to attend to internal affairs in the south. This oversight allowed some of his subordinates to act recklessly, ultimately igniting widespread chaos in the south. Li Yi was forced to lead his army back to quell the rebellion. Two years of arduous fighting resulted in the deaths of countless rebel generals at his hands. However, he also bore numerous scars, including one instance where an arrow pierced his chest, nearly killing him.

Although the medical skills in Ningzhou were exceptional, they ultimately saved Li Yi's life. However, from then on, Li Yi could never fully recover. With each breath, he felt as if his lungs were on fire, making it impossible for him to move around freely. Thus, he could only remain within his residence, barely maintaining the operation of the Ningzhou Prefectural Governor's Office. But in reality, this operation was becoming increasingly weak, and the order that the Ningzhou Prefectural Governor's Office could maintain was becoming less and less significant.

But this order is still indispensable. Once Li Yi really passes away, no one knows who will maintain this weakened situation. And who will ultimately bear the consequences of the disorder?

It was nighttime, and the town of Wei was completely silent.

After years of development from the Shu Han to the Jin dynasties, Wei County had become quite large. More than a city, it was a military fortress, with every facility designed for this purpose. Besides the tall, thick city walls and the trenches dug along their base, there was an earthen rampart within the city, intended to defend against invaders should the outer city be breached. Between the rampart and the outer city were piles of defensive equipment, with mountains of timber and stones. Behind the rampart, warehouses storing grain and supplies stretched endlessly.

The defenders' quarters were low, arranged in two rows along the only main street. Large cooking pots steamed over burning firewood, where some soldiers on night duty ate and rested. The entire massive fortress revolved around the goal of defending the city; no other functions were visible.

Even the residence of the governor, the city lord, was nothing more than a few simple wooden huts connected together, only slightly higher than other residences.

Night had fallen, and several soldiers, having removed their heavy armor and donned military uniforms, stood before the governor's mansion. They were tall and imposing, their expressions anxious, their eyes frequently glancing inside the mansion, unsure of what to do.

They stood there for a while, then saw the door open and a veiled woman emerge. She wore a long cloth dress, her hands covered in blood and emitting a foul stench of pus, but she seemed unaffected, as if she didn't smell it, and calmly looked at them. After a pause, she said to them, "The governor is temporarily out of danger, but he still needs to rest for a while. Please rest assured, generals, and don't worry too much. He has instructed me to relay his orders!"

After giving the order, everyone held their breath to listen. She continued, "Governor Luo has sent a letter urging us to prepare reinforcements. Regardless of his health, the five thousand troops prepared must depart tomorrow! All relevant personnel, hurry and make the preparations!"

The crowd nodded and left. They still harbored doubts about the governor's injuries, having witnessed him vomiting blood and being carried inside. However, they didn't raise many objections, seemingly trusting the woman implicitly, and bowed their heads before dispersing. Only one middle-aged man remained standing at the door, asking the woman, "Shuniang, may I go in and see the governor?"

This man was Zhang Jun, the Prefect of Jianning, and also the second-in-command of the Ningzhou Governor's Office. The woman glanced at him, nodded, and said calmly, "Very well, I'll go and brew some medicine. You go in first, Lord Zhang, and keep an eye on my master for a while."

Zhang Jun nodded and waited for the woman to leave before pushing open the door and entering. The lamplight flickered, and he saw two maids standing on either side of the sickbed. In the center of the bed lay a withered old man, his chest bandaged, and the room reeked of bitter herbs. A maid brought a small stool for Zhang Jun to sit on. Zhang Jun tentatively grasped the old man's hand; his skin was icy cold, and his pulse extremely weak. If it weren't for the faint sound of the old man's breathing, he would have almost thought that this illustrious veteran had passed away.

This made Zhang Jun feel sentimental: how cruel time is. Even the three heroes of Shu, who were full of vigor when they destroyed Wu, will suffer pain and grow old. In the end, they will be as weak and powerless as ordinary people, waiting for death to take their lives.

Whether it was the pain in his chest or the warmth of Zhang Jun's hand, the old man suddenly woke up from his dream and whispered, "Water, water."

Zhang Jun realized what was happening and quickly asked a maid for a bowl of hot water. He supported the old man's head with one hand and gently poured the water into his mouth with the other. After the old man slowly finished drinking, Zhang Jun put down the bowl and asked, "My lord, is there anything else you need?"

Li Yi opened his eyes, glanced at Zhang Jun with difficulty, shook his head slightly with an almost imperceptible movement, and said, "It's Shao Mao. No need, I'm fine now."

He spoke slowly and laboriously, making it hard to believe his words. Zhang Jun, a subordinate who had known him for many years, felt even more sorrowful and said, "My lord, you must hold on! If you leave, who will be able to shoulder the heavy responsibilities in the south?"

Li Yi forced a smile and said, "Isn't there still you, Shaomao?"

"Your Excellency is joking. How could I possibly accept such a joke? The current situation can only be resolved by a genius of extraordinary talent!"

Zhang Jun sighed deeply. Only those who had personally experienced it knew just how chaotic the southern regions had become in recent years. Three years ago, Li Yi commanded 60,000 troops in Ningzhou, and the counties and prefectures were peaceful, with the Jin and Yi tribes enjoying tranquility. But now, the Ningzhou Prefectural Governor's Office could only control half of Jianning County. The rest of the counties were largely cut off from communication, plagued by disease, and infiltrated by rebellious Yi tribes. His army numbered less than 20,000, utterly incapable of resisting the rebel forces.

Since last year, Li Yi had actually begun petitioning the court, hoping that a new prefect would be sent to Ningzhou to handle the matter. However, after the envoy arrived in Xuchang, Zu Ti had no time to deal with him. He merely ordered Wu Yan, the prefect of Jiaozhou, to send reinforcements, temporarily alleviating Ningzhou's immediate crisis. But in the long run, the Han Chinese power in Ningzhou is rapidly weakening. If this continues, within a few years, Nanzhong will completely break away from China.

Under such circumstances, Zhang Jun dared not accept the position of governor of Ningzhou. He knew he was not capable enough, and even if he forcibly dealt with the political situation in the south, he would only make the situation more chaotic.

The room fell silent for a moment. After catching his breath and feeling better, Li Yi slowly said, "I have already written to Shi Kang. If that day really comes, he will risk his life to handle the affairs in Nanzhong."

The Shikang that Li Yi mentioned was his only son, Li Zhao, who served as a court official and was renowned for both his literary and military talents. Upon hearing this, Zhang Jun immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, that's good." But then he looked tense again and asked, "But what if... Shikang doesn't come?"

“Then… we’ll have to leave it to Shuniang,” Li Yi sighed. “I hope you won’t object.”

"How could that be?" Zhang Jun was overjoyed. He said, "Although Shuniang is a woman, she is intelligent and talented, no less than the magistrate. In the past year, she has been managing military affairs for the magistrate, which everyone has seen. If such a person is in charge of the overall situation, no one can say anything."

“But… there’s something I don’t quite understand,” Zhang Junxu said. “Given the current situation, with the state in such dire straits, we’re barely able to get reinforcements from others. Why would we respond to Luo Yizhou and send him reinforcements?”

This was precisely Zhang Jun's purpose in making this trip. Given Ningzhou's dire situation, he didn't think it was a wise move to send 5,000 troops north. After all, 5,000 men were extremely valuable manpower for the Southern Central Plains, but how much impact would they have on the war situation in Bashu to the north?
Li Yi had actually guessed his purpose, and he patiently explained, "Shaomao, Sichuan and the south are interdependent. Given the current situation, we cannot save ourselves, so we can only place our hopes on Sichuan."

“This time, I hope Shuniang will go north. It may seem like she’s providing support, but in essence, she’s still asking for help.” Zhang Jun was skeptical upon hearing this, but faced with this chaotic world, he had no better solution. At this moment, Li Xiu returned to the room with a jar of medicine. He didn’t say anything more, sighed, took his leave, and slowly left the room.

After Zhang Jun left, Li Xiu removed her veil and began to feed her father his medicine. She blew on the medicine to cool it down before feeding it to him. Li Yi took a sip and then began to cough, even his smile was tinged with bitterness. He said, "Shuniang, why aren't you resting yet? Didn't you say you were going to Jiangzhou tomorrow?"

Li Xiu gazed at her father and said softly, "Sir, I'm used to it. It's nothing."

Li Yi looked back at his daughter's pretty and youthful face, sighed, and silently drank the medicine in one gulp. He sighed and said, "You've suffered so much following me all these years. If I had known that Nanzhong would be like this today, I would have preferred to let you go to Luoyang with your brother."

Faced with her father's sigh, Li Xiu was quite relaxed. She put away the bowls and jars, then turned back and teased her father, "What are you saying, sir? Luoyang is almost a ghost town. My brother barely survived. As the saying goes, 'When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact.' In this chaotic world, who can live in peace?"

Hearing his daughter's mature and open-minded words, Li Yi couldn't help but smile and said, "You're right." But then he felt a pang of regret and said with emotion, "Alas, it's a pity you're not a man, Shuniang. If you were a man, it would be a waste of your talents to be the governor of Ningzhou."

Li Xiu then laughed and said, "Fortunately, you are not a woman. If you were a woman, you would probably not live past thirty, as you are so prone to melancholy."

His daughter's gentle, spring-like smile always brought Li Yi comfort, but at this moment, he felt a greater sense of regret. As a father, it was impossible to feel at ease letting his daughter venture out alone in this chaotic world, yet he had no choice but to do so.

He gently patted the couch, gesturing for Li Xiu to sit down beside him, and then instructed, "Shuniang, do you know why we're going north?"

This was something he should have told Li Xiu long ago, but the sudden deterioration of his condition forced him to postpone it until now.

Li Xiu's expression returned to calm as he said, "The lord nominally ordered me to assist Lord Luo, but in reality, he wants me to seek help from others."

"You guessed it after all." Li Yi paused for a moment, then asked, "What's your view on the situation in Sichuan and Chongqing?"

Li Xiu didn't think for long before quickly replying, "If it were a battle between two powerful figures, Luo Gong and Li Xiong, one attacking and the other defending, attacking would be difficult and defending would be easy. Luo Gong also had external support, so perhaps he could have stalled for a long time. But now that Anle Gong Liu Xian has also joined the war, this situation has been broken, and a new situation has been formed."

"If the three parties deliberately maintain a balance, they will form a tripartite balance and may even maintain a stalemate for a long time. But if the three parties do not intend to form a balance and one party is destroyed first, then the remaining two parties will become vastly different in strength, and the unification of Sichuan and Chongqing will be quick."

"My lord has sent me north, probably to assess the situation and help Lord Luo unify Bashu first! Then I will ask for his help and lead my troops south to relieve the siege of Ningzhou."

Li Yi was greatly relieved upon hearing this; his judgment was correct. Judging from his daughter's analysis just now, she was already a qualified chess player. Unfortunately, in this era, her talent could not ultimately be used openly and legitimately.

Li Yi then asked, "Shuniang, do you know how to ask for help?"

Li Xiu twirled a strand of hair hanging down her temple with her fingers and said calmly, "As long as we can send troops to stabilize the situation in the south and help you eliminate Yu Lingcheng, I am willing to sacrifice myself for this marriage."

"Sigh." Hearing this, Li Yi turned his head slightly, unwilling to look at his daughter's calm expression; he only felt powerless. But on the other hand, he was also gratified by his daughter's awareness. Whether man or woman, as long as one is self-reliant and does not complain, life will be without regrets.

Therefore, when he turned back, he no longer showed pity for his daughter, but spoke earnestly as if addressing a successor: "Shunian, this is not for me, but for the people of Nanzhong."

"It's not necessarily about helping Luo Shang. I know Luo Shang's personality too well. Back when He Pan, Luo Shang, and I destroyed Wu together, I knew that Luo Shang was impatient and could kill on the battlefield, while He Pan was slow and could discuss important matters. The reverse is also true. If Luo Shang can kill, he will cause a great disaster, and if He Pan is too worried, he will miss the opportunity."

"The world is in such a state of chaos now, the imperial court is of little use. After you go north, see who can unify Sichuan and Chongqing, and then ask them for help. Neither the Duke of Anle nor the King of Chengdu is necessarily wrong. The Duke of Anle is my family's former master, and the King of Chengdu has some qualities of a benevolent ruler. But in short, the south cannot be allowed to descend into chaos any further."

"In recent years, plagues have ravaged the land, killing countless people..."

Li Yi was indeed too ill. As he spoke, he became utterly exhausted and unconsciously drifted off to sleep. Li Xiu looked at Li Yi, tidied her father's quilt, and then put her veil back on. Beneath the veil, only a solemn expression remained on her beautiful face.

After she left the room, a three-foot-long sword appeared at her slender waist. The maid at the door saw her leading a chestnut horse from the stable and asked, "Sister, won't you rest in the mansion first? It's still two hours before dawn. Sister, you can wait a little longer before going to the army."

Li Xiuyi stepped into the stirrups and nimbly mounted her horse, as light as a butterfly. Then she said, "No need. Now that I've joined the army as a general, aren't men and women the same?"

"Is my sister in such a hurry to head north?"

"Yes, how can we get to know the heroes of the world if we don't go north?"

Having said that, Li Xiu smiled gently, casually pulled on the reins, and the horse neighed, its dress fluttering in the moonlight. Amidst the frost, a solitary figure lightly trod the stone path, the sound of hooves echoing as it galloped towards the outer city. (End of Chapter)